The Origin of Jingle Bells
Jingle Bells is one of the most popular and commonly sung Christmas songs. It's original title was 'One Horse in an Open Sleigh' and written by James Lord Pierpont sometime during 1822–1893 intended for the Thanksgiving season. It was claimed the song was sung by children in Sunday school but this has been disputed due to the lyrics being a little 'racy' and secular for Church. The two first stanzas and chorus of the original 1857 lyrics differed slightly from those we know today. It is unknown who replaced the words with those of the modern version. The original word 'upsot' is a traditional meaning for 'upset'.
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Original Lyrics
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Today's Lyrics
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Dashing thro' the snow,
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Jingle all the way; Oh! what joy it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh. I tho't I'd take a ride And soon Miss Fannie Bright Was seated by my side. The horse was lean and lank Misfortune seemed his lot He got into a drifted bank And we—we got upsot. |
Dashing through the snow
In a one-horse open sleigh O'er the fields we go Laughing all the way Making spirits bright What fun it is to ride and sing A sleighing song tonight! Jingle all the way. Oh! what fun it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh. Jingle all the way; Oh! what fun it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh. I thought I'd take a ride And soon, Miss Fanny Bright Was seated by my side, The horse was lean and lank Misfortune seemed his lot He got into a drifted bank And then we got upsot. |: chorus :| The story I must tell I went out on the snow, And on my back I fell; A gent was riding by In a one-horse open sleigh, He laughed as there I sprawling lie, But quickly drove away. |: chorus :| Go it while you're young, Take the girls tonight and sing this sleighing song; Just get a bobtailed bay Two forty as his speed Hitch him to an open sleigh And crack! you'll take the lead. |
While having no direct link or reference to Christmas, it has become associated with the holiday decades after first being performed in 1857. Some area choirs adopted it as part of their repertoire in the 1860s and 1870s, and it was featured in a variety of parlour song and college anthologies in the 1880s. It was first recorded in 1889 on an Edison cylinder.
The original 1857 "Jingle Bells" had a slightly different chorus featuring a more classical-style melody. The "I V vi iii IV I V I" chord progression is a common theme in classical music; except for the final two chord changes, the melody as originally written follows the same chord progression as Pachelbel's Canon; the tune would later become more closely associated with another Christmas song, "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas," which appeared about twenty years after "Jingle Bells".
We have a selection of royalty free jingle bells music available. Sample them below. Or, if you fancy a wider range of festive tunes, check out our royalty free Christmas music.
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